Funk Rock / Soul Rock / Dance-Funk Rock
familyStarted 1967Peak 1973-1992Last big hit still active
The rock family built on the downbeat: syncopated sixteenth-note guitar scratch, popping or fingered bass riding 'the One,' tight horn stabs and clavinet, drums locked to a deep pocket. Vocals run from gospel-soul wail to rapped chant. Whether greasy and live or programmed and glossy, the body moves first.
History
Forged when late-'60s rock musicians absorbed James Brown's rhythmic discipline and Sly Stone's integrated band model, fusing guitar-rock attack with R&B groove. It widened across decades into metal-heavy, rapped, jammed, Afrobeat and disco-leaning offshoots, serving as rock's main bridge to soul, funk, hip-hop and the dancefloor.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_rock
- https://www.allmusic.com/style/funk-rock-ma0000004449
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk